Perth and Darwin Rental Prices Hitting Record Levels

Perth and Darwin Rental Prices Hitting Record Levels

It’s been a little while since we wrote an article about the cost of housing in Australia so thought it might be a good time to see what’s going on!.

Having done a little research on the matter, it would seem that for some new arrivals to Australia, it’s not all good news.

For those looking to move to Western Australia or the Northern territory, it’s worth noting that renting a home in Perth is now nearly as expensive as Sydney, with the mining boom driving rents to a record level. Fresh figures from the Real Estate Institute Of Western Australia (REIWA) show that in the three months to February metropolitan rents in Perth increased by 4.4 per cent, lifting the overall median from $450 to $490 per week, and representing a rise of $60 on the same time last year.

The research shows a house now costs $490 a week to rent in Perth and $700 a week in Darwin. Meanwhile, rental growth has been non-existent in Sydney and Melbourne for more than a year.

It’s all down to the highly paid fly-in fly-out workers apparently who can afford to bid up the price of housing well beyond the levels that locals could afford. Perth house rents rose 22.5 per cent and units by 17.1 per cent in the last year. The vacancy rate for rental properties was just 0.9 per cent in February, according to research by a company called SQM.

How rent prices have moved

Research has also found that costs are even steeper in Darwin, where a much smaller population and supply of housing stock is struggling to contend with an influx of workers for the liquid national gas projects. In the last year, Darwin house rents soared 22.8 per cent and unit rents by 22.2 per cent. Only 1.3 per cent of rental properties are currently available there.

In contrast, rents for houses in Melbourne held at $360 and have not experienced any growth in more than two years. Unit rents rose just 1.4 per cent, well below the rate of inflation.

In Sydney, house rents held steady at $500 for the year, but unit rents have risen by 4.4 per cent. About 2.7 per cent of rental properties are vacant in Melbourne and 1.5 per cent in Sydney, A much better position for those looking to move to the south and east coasts.

So there we have it. How will this effect where you’re wanting to settle if at all?